2011
2011
Swimming with Humpback Whales in Vava’u, Tonga
By Gabby Hunter of Dive Forster at Fisherman’s Wharf
Straight to it, we arrived in Vava’u mid morning on the 27th of September, and by 11am we were headed out to swim with our first whales after checking into our hotel. Around 20 minutes into our boat ride, our knowledgeable guide Moa spots the whales. She tells me it’s a mum and calf, and that we should get ready.
We all excitedly put our snorkelling gear on and waited for Moa’s signal to enter the water. Once again, I found myself scarcely believing how warm and clear the water is in Tonga; there was no shock when I slipped into the ocean, just pleasant warmth. The mum and calf were resting near the surface some 50 metres away. The five of us swam calmly over to them, I could hear everyone’s breathing slow (or maybe just mine) as I was once again captivated by the sheer size and beauty of these creatures. The calf was swimming around mum, circling and eyeing us off as we floated next to them.
Every now and then I’d pop my head above the water and hear their relaxed blows. The calf gradually became more inquisitive, swimming closer and closer to the snorkelers as the day went on. It was our last turn in the water, and by this stage the calf was confidently swimming past the awestruck people in the water doing barrelrolls. It must be the perfume I was wearing, but this little calf seemed to follow my movements; at one stage he came straight at me, literally 2 metres away. I had a moment where I thought to myself “He knows I’m here, right?” but as if he was playing a game of chicken with me, he turned with one lazy flick of his pectoral fin and circled the whole group.
The Tongan guide in the water with us nudged my arm and excitedly squeaked; he pointed down at a Manta Ray that had just arrived. Here we were, in the middle of the ocean, with two Humpback whales floating 20 metres away and a Manta Ray doing laps checking us out. The whales slowly started to move off, and our guide motioned for our boat to motor over and pick us up. We all whooped and cheered; this day couldn’t have been better. That was until I spotted a Blue Marlin swimming around the group, looking straight at us. His shimmering body agilely weaved through the shocked spectators; he was as curious and as close as the whales had been. After about 2 minutes of excited photos and adrenaline, he motored away into the blue. We climbed back onboard the boat, everybody was still talking about how close the calf had been, but my mind was still in the water with the Marlin and the Manta Ray.
Vava’u still had so much in store for us.
On Friday, we went out with the whales again after two days break. We spent the day with a relaxed mum and calf who didn’t really move much except for the occasional breath. After a lunch break, I volunteered to get in the water alone to “scout” for the mum and calf we had been with. Moa believed they had dived around 15m down and were just hanging there. I swam around 80m away, and just when I thought I wasn’t going to see them, I spotted the white of the mum’s pectoral fins. The two of them were floating, with the calf on mum’s back in a kind of “whale pile”. I motioned to the boat, and as I did that, the calf started to come up for air. Like on the first day, this calf came straight for me.
He broke the surface around 5 metres from me, and dove underneath me before turning around and doing another drive by. The other 4 people in my group had joined me by this stage; once again we witnessed another incredible encounter
with these super inquisitive mammals. The calf went back down to mum, and they motored away slowly with a slow wave of their tails. We ended our afternoon with some of the best snorkelling I have ever done at an island on the way back to the dive centre. Tired but amazed, my group had had yet another incredible day with the whales of Vava’u.
Our third whale day began much like our second; a mum and calf calmly resting in a sheltered bay around ten minutes away from the dive centre. As the day progressed, we were joined by an escort who started showing off; breaching and tail flapping. The calf began to imitate this behaviour, and soon we had double breaches and a multitude of in water activity. We spent another couple of hours swimming with this group, before heading to another great snorkelling spot for more exploration.
It was our last whale day that will stay with me forever. We motored around to the bay that we had been in with the mum and calf the day before, but they weren’t there. We headed out to sea, keeping our eyes peeled for any signs of spouts or splashing. One of our group spotted a blow from a whale, and we started motoring in that general direction. Suddenly, Huib, our skipper (and owner of Beluga Diving) asked me if we’d like to swim with Pilot Whales. Like he even had to ask!! It was a huge pod, with around 50 whales in it. Huib positioned us in the water, and we began to wait. But not before being circled by a bunch of playful spinner dolphins! The checked us out for a couple of minutes, but decided we were moving much too slowly for their taste. Then, out of the deep blue, grey shapes began to emerge in front of us. They weren’t swimming fast as Pilots usually do; they moved slowly through our group, their giant eyes watching us. We swam back to the boat, and for a while we sat watching their giant dark grey fins casually breaking the surface and travelling away.
Moa spotted some spouts off in the distance, and around 10 minutes later we were following what seemed to be three whales. We entered the water slowly; as soon as I layed eyes on the whales it became obvious they were adolescents. And there weren’t 3; there were 6! They spiralled around us, spyhopping 10 metres away from us and having a good old time.
At any one moment, our lucky group was surrounded by at least 3 whales on the surface, blowing bubbles and circling us, while the other 3 waited below us. I could see their eyes watching our movements, and ever so carefully they swam past us, shifting their fins as to not bump us. They were so close, I felt the shock wave of water from their bodies moving through the water. These whales spent the rest of the day swimming with us; they would move quickly when we were out of the water, swimming with purpose. But as soon as we got in and they saw us, they slowed down and interacted with us. The feeling that I had being surrounded by 6 teenage whales is indescribable.
At around 4 o’clock we left our team of teenagers, but our day was far from over. We had the opportunity to stop at the iconic Swallows Cave, where a giant ball of baitfish encircled our small group until the water was nothing but silver flashes from the thousands of fish. Our last day in Vava’u was over, but t
he memories my group have with last forever. As for me? I’ll be back.
